Billiards is a group of games played with balls on a rectangular table. In carom billiards, players score points
by knocking a ball into another using a long, tapered
cue stick. In the other general form, players score when
they drive balls into any of six pockets in a table by first
hitting them with the cue ball, which the player strikes
with the cue. Games played on pocket billiards tables
include English billiards, snooker, and pocket billiards,
also known as pool. Each game, especially pool and
carom billiards, varies by country or region. Local differences in rules and game etiquette are common. Billiards are played for recreation and in competition.
History
Billiards probably developed from one of the late-14thor early-15th-century outdoor lawn games in which
players hit balls at targets with sticks. It was first
played on the ground, often on measured plots that
were dug out to provide boundaries. The earliest mention of pool as an indoor table game is in a 1470 inventory list of the accounts of King Louis XI of France
(reigned 1461–1483). The word billiards probably descends from Latin terms for ball and from the Old
French word bille (a piece of wood), which refers to the
stick. The term “cue” is derived from the French queue,
meaning “tail,” and probably refers to the practice of
striking a ball with the small, or tail, end of the billiard
mace.
France’s Louis XIII (reigned 1610–1643) and Louis
XIV (reigned 1643–1710) were avid pool players. The
latter is generally credited with spreading the game
through Europe. Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland, was
an early patron of billiards. In 1586, while imprisoned
in the castle at Fotheringay, her playing table was taken
away, apparently as part of her punishment. A few
months later she was beheaded and, according to some
sources, her body was wrapped in the cloth stripped
from the table.
Billiards arrived in the Americas some time before
1709. The game flourished in 18th-century America,
and most towns had public billiards tables. By the mid-
1830s, billiards tables were to be found as far west as
Bent’s Fort outpost on the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado.
Rules and Play
Modern billiards are played on three basic table types:
the pocketless carom table, the English table, and the
pocket billiards, or pool, table. The first billiards tables
were constructed of wood and subject to warping. Substituting slate, easy to smooth and nonwarping, proved
the single most important improvement in tables. Uniformly resilient rails around the table became possible
with Goodyear’s 1839 development of vulcanizing.
Skilled play also requires a good cloth covering, but by
the middle of the 19th century improved textile technology had made good cloth (often felted) universally
available.
Billiard balls were initially turned from wood, in the
late 19th century from celluloid and later from cast
phenolic resin. Modern balls range in diameter from
21/16 to 2 27/64 inches (roughly 5 centimeters), depending on the game. Larger balls are used in carom games
while snooker and English billiards require small balls.
The cue probably appeared between 1679 and 1734
and had replaced other sticks by the second half of the
18th century. Throughout the 18th century, players
adapted various practices and techniques to improve
their control; these included angled and oblong tips,
the roughening of tips, chalking cues, leather-tipped
cues, and the horizontal spin, still used today. This is
commonly called “English” in the United States, although the English refer to it as “side.” Modern cues are
tapered, wooden rods about 1.4 meters (57 inches)
long and weighing between 397 and 624 grams (14 and
22 ounces). Aluminum and fiberglass are also used.
Four types of billiards are played today: carom, or
French billiards; English billiards; snooker; and pocket
billiards, or pool.
Carom Billiards
Carom, or French billiards, is played on a table with no
pockets and with three balls: one red, one white, and one distinguished by two or three red or black spots. A
point, or carom, is scored when a player’s cue ball is
propelled into the two object balls, the red ball, and the
opponent’s cue ball in succession. The player continues
his or her turn (known as an “inning”) until he or she
fails to score. Scoring and rules of carom billiards differ regionally. The winner is the first player to reach a
predetermined number of points, usually 50.
English Billiards
English billiards combines attributes of the carom
game and the pocket game. It is played with three balls:
a red, a white, and a spot white. Players score by knocking balls into pockets.
Snooker
Snooker may be played on any pocket billiards table
and uses 22 balls, including the white cue ball, 15 red
balls, and 6 numbered, colored balls, each worth a specific number of points. Players begin by striking a red
ball with the cue ball; if successful, they attempt to
pocket any of the nonred balls. The player with the
highest total score after all of the balls have been pocketed is the winner.
Snooker is extremely popular in Great Britain and
former British colonies. Large billiard rooms in the
United States sometimes have snooker tables, but its
popularity is minimal compared to pocket billiards.
Pocket Billiards
Pocket billiards, commonly known as pool, is played
with a cue ball and up to 15 object balls. Each ball is
numbered and has a distinctive color. Numbers 1
though 8 are solid-colored and numbers 9 through 15
are white with a wide stripe of a distinctive color.
Pocket billiards games probably come in more variety
than any of the other general game types described
above (the Billiards Congress of America rules and
records book lists 26, but local variations in these make
the actual number much larger). Rules and popularity
of the games depend on where they’re played. Currently, the three most popular pocket billiards games,
which are played in officially sanctioned tournaments,
are straight pool, also known as 14.1 continuous; eight
ball; and nine ball.
Straight Pool
In straight pool, the 15 numbered balls are grouped
with a triangular plastic or wood rack, the apex of the
triangular group toward the head of the table. Each is
worth one point when pocketed. A match consists of a
number of “blocks” agreed upon by the players. Each
block consists of an agreed-upon number of points—
usually 150 in tournament play. Players must “call,” or
designate, each shot before shooting. As long as the
called ball goes into the correct pocket, all other balls
pocketed (in any pocket) as a result of the shot are
worth one point.
Straight pool was the game of choice for tournament play in the United States for most of the 20th century. Many of the legends of pocket billiards derive
from “runs”—the number of balls pocketed consecutively without losing turn. Willie Mosconi (1913–1993)
holds the officially recognized run record of 526 balls,
made at a 1954 exhibition.
Nine Ball
In recent years, nine ball has supplanted straight pool
as the primary tournament game. Nine ball is played
with the balls numbered 1 through 9, which are racked
in a diamond shape with the 1 ball at the head of the diamond and located on the foot spot. The 9 ball must be
in the center of the rack and the remaining balls may
be located randomly. Nine ball is termed a “rotation”
game in that the balls must be shot in consecutive numerical order. However, they need not be pocketed in
numerical order. The game is won by the player who
legally pockets the 9 ball. The number of balls pocketed
is not important.
Tournament play has embraced nine ball due to its
fast pace, unpredictability, spectacular shot making,
and clever safety play. Since shots need not be called,
some element of luck is involved—especially on the
break. Because of this, weaker players can often defeat
stronger ones. Tournaments require players to win the
majority of a designated number of games, typically
best of nine.
Nine ball also has the reputation of being a gambling game, and for that reason has been banned in
some billiards parlors and taverns from time to time.
Eight Ball
The most popular form of pocket billiards is eight ball.
The object of eight ball is not to score points, as in
straight pool, but to pocket a set of the object balls, either those numbered 1 through 7 (termed “solids” or
“low”) or those numbered 9 through 15 (termed
“stripes” or “high”), followed by the 8 ball. When a
player has pocketed all of his or her balls, he or she may
then attempt to pocket the 8 ball and thereby win the
game. House rules are probably more common in eight
ball than in any of the other billiards games.
Billiards in one form or another is played in nearly
every country around the world. World championship
tournaments are held for both amateurs and professionals in three-cushion billiards, snooker, and various
pocket billiards games. In addition, women are making
inroads into a game long dominated by men. Nationaland international-level championships have been held
for women since the mid-1970s. In recent years, billiards had enjoyed a surge of popularity.
—GARRY CHICK
Bibliography: Billiard Congress of America. (1995) Billiards:
The Official Rules & Records Book. Iowa City, IA: Billiard
Congress of America. Hendricks,William. (1974) William
Hendricks’ History of Billiards. Roxana, IL: William Hendricks. Mizerak, Steve, with Michael E. Panozzo. (1990)
Steve Mizerak’s Complete Book of Pool. Chicago: Contemporary Books.